Butterflies are not just another pretty face. Like bees, these colorful creatures are also an integral part of the interdependence and interconnectedness of nature as they too pollinate flowers while they flit around drinking delicious floral nectars. In a super biodiverse ecosystem like the Amazon Rainforest, butterflies are super important for keeping the natural garden in full bloom and abundance, and that’s why there are so many different sizes, shapes and exotic colors of them adding magic and wonder to an already paradise like atmosphere.
But with the Amazon under assault from everything from oils spills to clear-cutting, some of the most beautiful butterflies are becoming endangered as the specific plants they rely on, and in turn help propagate, become rarer and rarer in a cycle that could lead to the extinction of both.
At the Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm and Animal Orphanage just outside of Iquitos, Peru, which has been run by Austrian expat Gundrun Sperrer for more than 10 years, a variety of gorgeous but endangered butterflies are raised in captivity and then released into the wild to add to the natural population and help pollinate it’s reciprocal host plants. Over the years, the operation also became a home to orphaned jungle animals that were found injured or being sold in markets and were brought to Sperrer to take care of.
I visited Pilpintuwasi earlier this year and was guided through the tightly run butterfly farm and animal rescue by one of the half dozen seasonal volunteers, who come from all over the work to get hands on experience in Amazonian wildlife care. In the process I took some photos of not just the brightly hued butterflies within the huge netted nursery but of the monkeys, parrots and other jungle critters that now make their home there.
Ocean Malandra divides his time between the Redwood forest of Northern California and the Amazon jungle of South America and writes the EarthRx environmental column for Paste.
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The Hamadryas Amphinome is a gorgeously patterned turquoise blue butterfly that is found all throughout the neo \tropics, from Mexico to Peru. It needs a particular plant (Dalechampia scandens) to lay its eggs on, as the newly hatched larvae can only eat the leaves of this one particular species, showing just how delicate this interdependent balance between the insect and vegetal world really is. The Hamadryas Amphinome is just one of the 20 or so species of the Amphinome genus, and eight of them can be found in the southern U.S.
Photo by Ocean Malandra
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After a butterfly egg hatches and grows from a larvae into a caterpillar, they then undergo the fantastic metamorphosis into a butterfly inside of something called a chrysalis (cocoons are for moths). Because the chrysalis is completely defenseless, many species have evolved various forms that resemble leaves and are nearly completely camouflaged in a forest environment. At Pilpintuwasi, the chrysalis are watched over and managed by the volunteers to make sure the next stage, the birth of the butterfly, happens smoothly.
Photo by Ocean Malandra
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One of the largest and mostly extravagantly rainbow colored members of the parrot family, the macaw is also a favorite pet not just here in the Amazon but all over the world. Unfortunately, not everybody is prepared to properly care for a bird of this size, which usually spends its time freely screeching through the jungle playing and hunting ripe fruits and nuts in large flocks of up to 30 individuals, and that's how these beautiful specimens ended up at Pilpintuwasi. Extremely intelligent, macaws often repeat words they hear frequently so watch what you say around them.
Photo by Ocean Malandra
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Sporting similar markings to its much larger cousin the jaguar, the ocelot is about twice the size of the average house cat and is rarely seen in the wild as it is both nocturnal and super stealthy. Despite this, ocelots are one of the animals that you are likely to see being sold or traded at markets in the Iquitos area as their beautiful coats fetch high price tags. This ocelot is being nursed back to health at Pilpintuwasi and will be released back into the wild if it is determined that his survival skills are intact.
Photo by Ocean Malandra
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Weighing in at up to 600 pounds and related to both the horse and the rhino, the Amazonian tapir (or lowland tapir) is one of the largest mammals found on the South American continent. While many indigenous groups hunt these tapirs as a source of food, this particular guy was found as a baby on a floating restaurant where he was being used as a tourist attraction. With their prehensile mouth and stocky body, these unique animals are a bit like elephants.
Photo by Ocean Malandra
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Because even once they get their wings on butterflies are mostly defenseless creatures, several species have evolved unique traits that enhance their survival rate in the wild. This giant owl butterfly (Caligo illioneus) for example, sports markings that appear to be eyes of a much larger animal, thereby scaring away an potential predator by fooling them into thinking the butterfly is much bigger and more aware than it really is. The giant owl butterfly has a wingspan of around 6 inches across and is a brilliant blue on the other (dorsal) side of its wings.
Photo by Ocean Malandra